cypressfarms
Well-known member
I've been a guitar player and builder for the better part of 20 years. I've had the pleasure of seeing a bunch of people in concert, and I always like to pay attention to the "artists" versus the performers. This past weekend was the Bayou Fest in Baton Rouge where a bunch of acts played for the weekend.
In 2007 my wife and I got tickets on the stage for Kenny Chesney and Sugarland - I knew someone who helped me out. During the concert you could hear Kenny cursing at his bandmembers - he really seemed like a donkey's butt. Sugarland, on the other hand, was very friendly, came around and shook everyone's hands and genuinely seemed nice.
So I've always watched concerts to see if the performers are actually playing their instuments or are their back up people doing the hard work, and they are just "performing".
From this past weekend, happy to say that Brooks and Dunn are the real thing. Surprisingly, Taylor Swift can really play well. Keith Urban is a fantastic player and played every one of his solos - which is almost unheard of these days.
Now to Kenny. He did play a little, but the guitar was basically an ornament on him. I have earned new respect, though, for him. He went out of his way to have a satellite connection established with some local military personnel serving overseas. They showed them on the big screens. Kenny went out of his way to thank them for their service. I still consider Kenny more of a performer than an artist, but that was nice of him to do.
Just a weird thing that I always do at concerts - I have to watch to see if they are really playing or just acting like it. Probably the best "real" players I've seen are Billy Gibbons, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Buddy Guy, Stevie Ray Vaughn and now Keith Urban. These were/are "real" artists and don't disappoint.
In 2007 my wife and I got tickets on the stage for Kenny Chesney and Sugarland - I knew someone who helped me out. During the concert you could hear Kenny cursing at his bandmembers - he really seemed like a donkey's butt. Sugarland, on the other hand, was very friendly, came around and shook everyone's hands and genuinely seemed nice.
So I've always watched concerts to see if the performers are actually playing their instuments or are their back up people doing the hard work, and they are just "performing".
From this past weekend, happy to say that Brooks and Dunn are the real thing. Surprisingly, Taylor Swift can really play well. Keith Urban is a fantastic player and played every one of his solos - which is almost unheard of these days.
Now to Kenny. He did play a little, but the guitar was basically an ornament on him. I have earned new respect, though, for him. He went out of his way to have a satellite connection established with some local military personnel serving overseas. They showed them on the big screens. Kenny went out of his way to thank them for their service. I still consider Kenny more of a performer than an artist, but that was nice of him to do.
Just a weird thing that I always do at concerts - I have to watch to see if they are really playing or just acting like it. Probably the best "real" players I've seen are Billy Gibbons, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Buddy Guy, Stevie Ray Vaughn and now Keith Urban. These were/are "real" artists and don't disappoint.
